Questions remain going into this weekend

Just want to get this out of the way first: kudos to the mainstream media folks who don't appear to have overblown yet another "Subway Series." Compared to the coverage leading up to last year's games, this season is tame. That's partly because of the Yankees' struggles, and partly due to the Mets' consistency. There are still the useless position-by-position previews that don't matter one bit, but even still, it's nice not to read any overhyped game previews.

Still, what cannot be overhyped is the Yankees' almost desperate need to keep their heads above water during this 12-game stretch, which they've already started 1-2.

For now, we do know that Tyler Clippard will start on Sunday, but it's still unknown how it's going to go without a DH. Jason Giambimay be available to pinch hit, but that might be it. But no matter what changes are made or who plays where, absent a waking offense, the Yanks could be in trouble this weekend against the only NL team built to hit like an AL team.

This one -- like all series for this team right now -- we just have no idea what to expect. Will the Yanks waste another solid outing by Andy Pettitte tonight? At this point, the right answer feels like "probably," which is disappointing. Pettitte starts opposite enigmatic but sometimes-overpowering Oliver Perez tonight.